By Antonia Ehlers, PR and Media Relations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

In response to the planned healthcare worker strikes beginning today and tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 18 and 19, Kaiser Permanente issued the following statement:

We are extremely grateful for all our frontline health care workforce, whose commitment to providing care and service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of inspiring. We recently reached successful agreements with dozens of unions that represent more than 60,000 Kaiser Permanente employees that demonstrate our commitment to providing excellent wages and benefits for all employees while meeting our commitment to delivering high-quality, affordable care for our members and patients. These are market-leading contracts, reached through constructive and reasonable bargaining.

Bargaining with Local 39 IUOE

Kaiser Permanente has been bargaining in good faith with Local 39 IUOE, the union that represents about 600 Kaiser Permanente operating engineers, for several months. The union decided to call a strike and have kept employees out for more than two months. We are offering Local 39 employees wages that are similar to our other employees’ and that, on top of Local 39’s generous medical and the richest retirement benefits, will keep our engineers among the best compensated in their profession, at an average of more than $180,000 in total wages and benefits. We are not proposing any take-aways and our proposals do not differentiate between current and future employees. But union leadership wants more, asking for unreasonable increases far beyond any other union at Kaiser Permanente.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, after many hours bargaining on Tuesday and Wednesday, there is no movement in negotiations with Local 39. The union insists it receive much more – in some cases nearly two times more – than other union agreements covering Kaiser Permanente employees.

Michelle Gaskill-Hames, Senior Vice President, Hospital and Health Plan Operations, Kaiser Permanente Northern California spoke via video about the workers and patient care during the strike.

We are optimistic that we can resolve the remaining issues with Local 39 at the bargaining table and reach an agreement that continues to reward our employees and supports health care affordability, just as we have with several unions this week.

Sympathy strikes

As one of the largest health care union employers in the United States — with nearly 75% of our employees working under collective bargaining agreements — we fully understand solidarity among unions. But given the demands of Local 39, on top of the already market-leading compensation and highest retirement benefit of any represented employee in our organization, we believe that sympathy strikes are not appropriate in this case. We are asking our staff to choose to be there for our patients, and to come to work.

We question why leaders of other unions are asking their members to walk out on patients on Nov. 18 and 19 in sympathy for Local 39. This will not bring us closer to an agreement and most important, it is unfair to our members and patients to disrupt their care when they most need our employees to be there for them.

Several unions have submitted sympathy strike notices: SEIU-UHW, Local 20, and Local 29 on Thursday, November 18 and the California Nurses Association, Friday, November 19. Kaiser Permanente is not in bargaining with these unions, and each has a current contract. In fact, we have informed SEIU-UHW, Local 20, and Local 29 union leaders that we believe in accordance with their contracts, these sympathy strikes are not protected by law.

We are also in bargaining with NUHW, the union that represents our mental health professionals. NUHW has announced a one-day strike for Friday, November 19.

We have taken steps to ensure that our members and patients will continue to receive high-quality, safe care and service should these strikes occur.

We have prepared thoroughly to care for our patients in the event of a strike and are working diligently to reduce the impact.

• During the strike, care will be provided by physicians and experienced clinical managers and staff, with the support of trained and qualified contingency staff.
• Some non-urgent medical appointments or procedures may be affected, and we will reach out to patients to reschedule or convert appointments to phone or video if that is appropriate. We will not postpone any urgent or emergency care, or critical medical appointments.
• We encourage members to schedule an appointment should they need lab, optometry, or radiology services this week as some of our locations will be temporarily closed or operating with reduced hours. If a member has an urgent need for services, they should call the Appointment and Advice Call Center, which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Some outpatient pharmacies will be temporarily closed from Nov. 18 and 19.  If a member does not need their refill right away, any closed pharmacies will reopen on Saturday, Nov. 20. Our Mail Delivery pharmacy will remain open during the strike to order refills at kp.org or by phone.
• In the event an urgent prescription is needed and the outpatient pharmacy is closed, Kaiser Permanente staff will provide members with direction on how to fill their prescription at an open Kaiser Permanente pharmacy or at a retail pharmacy. Hospital pharmacies for inpatient care and critical infusion services will remain in operation.
• All our hospitals and emergency departments will continue to be open during a strike and remain safe places to receive care.

As this is an evolving situation, we will continue to communicate directly with our members and post updates on kp.org as they are available.

We are very sorry for any disruption members may experience as we take steps to ensure that we continue to provide high-quality, safe care during this union strike.

Kaiser Permanente is indisputably one of the most labor-friendly organizations in the United States.

Our history and our future are deeply connected to organized labor. Labor unions have always played an important role in our efforts to provide more people with access to high-quality care and to make care more affordable.

It’s unconscionable that union leaders would ask health care workers to walk away from the patients who need them and deliberately disrupt their care.

At least two at “home sick Monday with bad stomachaches”

By Allen Payton

Fourteen children were given higher doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine than they should have received at Sutter Health’s Antioch Urgent Care clinic in the Blue Rock Center over the weekend.

A statement was issued by Dr. Jimmy Hu, a pediatrician and Chair of the Sutter Health COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force:

“This weekend 14 patients at our Antioch pediatric vaccine clinic received vaccines with an incorrect amount of diluent. As soon as we learned of this, we contacted the parents and advised them of CDC guidance in this situation. The safety of our patients is our top priority, and we immediately reviewed our processes to help make sure this doesn’t happen again. According to the CDC, patients who receive vaccine with an incorrect diluent volume may experience more arm soreness, fatigue, headache, or a fever in response to the dose given.”

According to Sutter Health spokesperson, Monique Binkley-Smith, the children received more than the 5- to 11-year-old dose of 10 micrograms, and approximately two-thirds the dose of what a 12-year-old or older would get of 30 micrograms.

The vaccine dilution/prep process is done on-site-at the clinics, the same day it’s administered.

According to an ABC news report, two of the children got sick after receiving the vaccine.

“I’m here tonight to report my story because it’s unacceptable; you expect your medical professionals to give you correct doses,” parent Denise Iserloth said.

Denise and her husband Shawn’s eight and 11-year-old children were among the kids given the wrong amount of coronavirus vaccine.

“The Iserloths, whose children were both home sick Monday with bad stomachaches, say their two children were given 20 micrograms of dosage instead of the recommended 10. They’re now very concerned about any long-term effects,” according to the ABC report.

The children are expected to be fine.

“According to the CDC, patients who receive vaccine with an incorrect diluent volume may experience more arm soreness, fatigue, headache, or a fever in response to the dose given,” Binkley-Smith shared.

Also according to the CDC, “Scientists have conducted clinical trials with about 3,000 children, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has met the safety and efficacy standards for authorization in children ages 5 through 11 years old.  The safety of COVID-19 vaccines continues to be monitored.”

Statement from Kaiser Permanente

November 15, 2021

By Deniene Erickson, Issues Manager, Kaiser Permanente Northern California

We are very pleased to announce that at about 1:00 a.m. this morning, Kaiser Permanente and the Guild for Professional Pharmacists reached a tentative agreement for a new 3-year contract for pharmacists in our Northern California region. The tentative agreement reflects our respect for Kaiser Permanente pharmacy professionals and the exceptional care they provide and provides industry-leading wage and benefit packages. The agreement is aligned with our commitment to high quality, affordable health care and to being the best place to work in health care, and includes the following:

• Wage increases: Guaranteed across-the-board wage increases each year through the duration of the three year contract
• Health benefits: No reductions or takeaways to already low-cost family medical and dental coverage with the same low copays for prescriptions and office visits
• Retirement benefits: Maintains generous retirement income benefits and employer-subsidized retiree medical.
• Bonus opportunities: Higher incentive bonus opportunities
• Agreement on important operational matters

In light of this, the Guild for Professional Pharmacists has canceled the strike that was expected to begin November 15 and our pharmacies will return to normal operations later today.

This agreement comes on the heels of Saturday’s landmark tentative agreement between Kaiser Permanente and the Alliance of Health Care Unions, affecting nearly 50,000 Kaiser Permanente employees across the enterprise.

We are continuing to bargain in good faith with Local 39 Operating Engineers and the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), and are confident we will reach agreements with these unions very soon. At this time there is no change in the Local 39 Operating Engineers strike. Other unions have not yet rescinded their one-day sympathy strike notices for Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19. NUHW, the union that represents our mental health professionals has also announced a one-day strike for Friday, November 19, which remains in effect.

As always, our first priority is our members and patients and we have taken steps to ensure they will continue to receive high-quality, safe care and service should these strikes take place.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP: https://bit.ly/HolidayCaregiving

Starting today, Monday, November 8, 2021; Congressmen DeSaulnier and McNerney urge Sutter to come to an agreement with workers over safe staffing

Sutter Delta will remain staffed and open

“they negotiated the contract…and it was approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system weeks ago… the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier” – Sutter Health spokesperson

By Renée Saldaña, Media Relations, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West

After Sutter Health refused to bargain in good faith and canceled mediation, more than 350 healthcare workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center in Antioch will strike for a second time starting Monday, November 8th. Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say massive understaffing, difficult working conditions, and a series of unfair labor practices prompted the vote to strike for a second time.

On November 7, after management at Sutter Delta canceled the bargaining session which had been scheduled with federal mediation, U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier and Jerry McNerney sent a letter to Sutter Health CEO Sarah Krevans, urging the healthcare company to reach an agreement with workers in writing on unsafe staffing.

“We understand that finding trained and qualified health care workers is a challenge right now, not just for Sutter Delta, but across the country,” wrote U.S. Reps. DeSaulnier and McNerney. “It is our understanding that this hospital has not seen a significant drop in patients over the last few years, but dozens of workers have resigned their positions during this time and have not been replaced, which has greatly increased the workload on those who remain… For the health and safety of the people of Antioch and surrounding communities, this issue must be resolved.”

The letter is available to view here: SEIU-UHW-Sutter-Delta-Letter

Employees at Sutter Delta Medical Center say conditions are dire for caregivers and patients inside their facility as management ignores concerns about understaffing and working conditions. Workers are worried about patient and staff safety and say they’ve been pushed to the limit by their employer.

“We voted to strike because we want to put a stop to Sutter’s unfair labor practices and because we care about patient safety, and we want safe staffing levels. We are exhausted and overwhelmed, and we feel like Sutter management is ignoring our concerns,” said Stefanye Sartain, a respiratory therapist at Sutter Delta Medical Center. “Our hospital has multiple job openings that haven’t been posted because management feels they don’t need the positions filled. But we are so short-staffed, it’s hard to provide adequate care. Sutter is eroding the staff and it’s not safe for patients or workers.”

Workers at Sutter Delta Medical Center say staffing shortages predate the COVID-19 pandemic and, as a result of years of poor staffing and management decisions by Sutter, the hospital already didn’t meet adequate staffing for average patient levels. Frontline caregivers say COVID exacerbated this already strained infrastructure, and their employer’s response to the pandemic has only worsened the preexisting crisis.

The strike consists of a variety of job classes at the hospital in Antioch, including emergency room technicians, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists, transporters, and licensed vocational nurses.

Today, Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, caregivers in their uniforms will walk off the job at  Sutter Delta Medical Center, 3901 Lone Tree Way in Antioch, and will be joined by their coworkers and supporters. Later, caregivers in their uniforms and scrubs will form picket lines, hold signs, chant, and give speeches.

Sutter Health Claims Contract Approved By All Others, Sutter Delta Union Only Holdout

In response, a Sutter Health spokesperson wrote, “We are disappointed that minutes after our second mediated negotiation session, the union decided to give notice of another strike and walk away from patients who need them. After that, we had no choice but to turn our focus to our top priority – meeting the needs of our patients by securing qualified workers to replace the staff who decide to walk off the job instead of caring for patients. Because of this focus, Sutter Delta Medical Center will remain open, continuing to provide, safe, high-quality care for the people of Antioch and surrounding communities – just as it did during last month’s strike.

“We stand by our most recent offer, and the union should too: they negotiated the contract, were confident enough to place it on a ballot, and it was approved by more than 3,000 employees at seven other SEIU-represented hospitals across our system weeks ago. Yet, the union at Sutter Delta continues to be the one outlier, distracting from patient care instead of focusing on reaching a fair agreement on behalf of their members.

“The union talks freely about the staffing and patient care needs of the hospital, but when push comes to shove, it’s the union that is asking employees to walk out on their patients. We’ll deal with the strike, and when it’s over, we’ll be able to return our attention to resolving this.

Our proposed contract guarantees pay and benefits that are as good or better than others in the area. The current offer includes 13% salary increase over four years (3% yearly salary increases each year for three years and a 4% increase in year four) and 100% employer paid health coverage for employees and their families.”

Questions About Cancelled Mediation

Asked about their claim that Sutter Health canceled mediation, Saldaña of said, “Over the weekend there was a bargaining session with federal mediation. But that was cancelled by Sutter Delta management staff.”

Asked why Sutter Delta workers were the lone holdouts on the contract she replied, “For the workers at Sutter Delta it’s more about patient care and the workers’ safety. They’re feeling severely understaffed.”

Asked if Sutter Delta management staff canceled mediation as the union is claiming and why, a Sutter Health spokesperson responded, “both parties agreed to mediation but then the union immediately issued a strike notice. Which meant, as mentioned in our (previous) statement, we had to turn our attention from negotiating to securing qualified replacement workers to keep the hospital open and able to provide, safe, high-quality care for the community.”

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

 

Blame placed on unvaccinated, including children ages 5-11

“We need 92,000 more people to get vaccinated,” Contra Costa Health Services Director Anna Roth

Next redistricting hearing Nov. 9

By Daniel Borsuk

The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors will not meet in their gleaming new state-of-the-art hearing room for the first time in the new $95 million Contra Costa County Administration Building until January, if then.

It all depends on how the county’s fight against COVID-19 goes. At least for now, Contra Costans will have to continue to remotely view and participate in supervisors’ meetings.

While the new three-story Contra Costa County Administration building at 1025 Escobar St. in Martinez is open for administrative services, the public hearing room goes unused by the public. (See related article)

Only county administrative and county counsel use the hearing room during board of supervisors’ meetings.

On a 4-0 vote, supervisors approved, during their meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 2, its second consecutive order recommended from County Counsel Mary Ann Mason to extend for at least through December, the teleconference public meeting order that applies to all county governmental entities.

The edict also applies to the board of supervisors’ advisory commissions.  Meetings conducted for the planning commission, airports commission, library commission, merit board, and Proposition X advisory commission among other advisory panels must continue to be conducted via Zoom or other teleconference media.

The supervisors’ action to extend the COVID-19 public meeting teleconference order arose from the fact that 92,000 five- to 11-year-old children in the county are now eligible to get vaccinated, Contra Costa Health Services Director Anna Roth announced.

This announcement will add more burden to county health officials to vaccinate residents. She informed supervisors the county’s total vaccination rate is 73.2 percent.

“We need 92,000 more people to get vaccinated,” Roth informed supervisors.

Mason recommended supervisors adopt the resolution because “the COVID-19 case rate in Contra Costa County is in the ‘substantial’ community transmission tier, the second-highest tier of the CDC’s four community transmission tiers and the County Health Officer’s recommendations for safely holding public meetings, which recommend virtual meetings and other measures to promote social distancing, are still in effect.”

In October, supervisors had adopted a similar resolution authored by County Counsel Mason to continue teleconference meetings for public health reasons at least until November, but obviously the public health landscape had not improved sufficiently for state health officials to lift all the burdensome public meeting restrictions.

While county health officials reported the county is making progress in getting Contra Costa residents vaccinated, “A Statewide state of emergency and the Countywide local emergency continue to directly impact the ability of the Board of Supervisors, in all of its capacities, and its subcommittees and advisory bodies.”

Another COVID-19 oriented state of emergency edict ordering Contra Costa County governmental agencies to conduct meetings remotely means the board of supervisors won’t conduct its inaugural meeting until January, if then, in the new $95 million administration building in downtown Martinez.

In the meantime, the gleaming new public hearing hall remains closed to the public.

Redistricting Public Hearing on Nov. 9

The county’s fourth public hearing on supervisorial redistricting will be held starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 9. The hearing will start at 9 a.m. during the Board of Supervisors meeting. The hearing will be held via Zoom and can be viewed online. (See related article)

“The County Board of Supervisors welcomes your community input in this important, decennial process,” said Board Chair Dianne Burgis of Brentwood. “We are committed to a robust Redistricting and public outreach process with public hearings, a dedicated website at CoCoRedistricting.org. public workshops, and multiple ways to share your input.”

Redistricting is based on the U.S. Census data, which was released in legacy format on August 12, 2021. The actual drawing of Supervisorial District Maps requires the official California State Adjusted Redistricting data, which was released Sept. 20, 2021 and includes updated data to ensure that individuals in the prison population are counted by each jurisdiction.

Acknowledge Black Maternal and Infant Health Day

Supervisors proclaimed Nov. 3, 2021 as Black Family Health Day to acknowledge the disparities in adverse birth outcomes among Black birthing patients and ways to turnaround those negative outcomes using pioneering technologies such as the early warning system, Partners in Pregnancy Fatherhood Program, Black Infant Health Program, and other programs.

From 2018 to 2020, 9.5 percent of Black mothers had preterm births compared to 5.8 percent of White mothers. Black babies are twice as likely to die within the first year of life as White babies (6.3/1,000 v. 3.2/1,000 from 2016 to 2020) and Black mothers experienced health-impacting, life-threatening events during childbirth at more than double the rate of White mothers from 2016 to 2018.

 

By Rachel Heggen, Community Relations & Development Specialist, MOWDR

At 66, Dianne never imagined she would depend on others to do her grocery shopping.  Walking is difficult for her, which makes going to the supermarket challenging, and because she lives on a fixed income, she faces yet another obstacle to obtaining healthy food.

“I didn’t plan on my life coming down to this.” says Dianne. “I had a well-paying job, but now, I’m on disability. With the high cost of living nowadays, it’s really been tough.”

In 2020, Meals on Wheels Diablo Region partnered with the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano to launch the Grocery Bag Program to help seniors like Dianne who face food insecurity. Twice a month, a MOW Diablo Region volunteer is able to deliver healthy groceries and fresh produce along with her weekly meals.

“It’s a wonderful program,” says Dianne. “It’s been life-saving.”

The Grocery Bag Program provides food to low-income seniors in Antioch, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Oakley, Pittsburg, Concord, Martinez and Walnut Creek. MOW Diablo Region Grocery Bag Coordinator Casey Claibourne says, “the program currently serves 160 clients, but there are many more people who need the service. The only way we can offer it is to find more volunteers.”

“You can tell most of the seniors are struggling, and from the looks of things, most likely they do not have a lot in their refrigerator,” says Ted Dason, who’s been volunteering since February. “If anyone is considering being a volunteer, I tell them, it’s super rewarding and it literally only takes about two hours every month.”

If you would like to learn more or volunteer for the Meals on Wheels Diablo Region’s Grocery Bag program, contact Casey Claibourne at cclaibourne@mowdr.org.

About

MOW Diablo Region delivers meals to seniors, 60 years or older, who are homebound, not able to drive, unable to prepare food themselves, and do not have a caregiver that prepares their meals. Meals are provided based on need, not on income. Volunteer drivers deliver over 1,000 hot, nutritious meals to homebound seniors every day. Meal deliveries also provide a needed safety-check and is often the only human interaction a senior will have all day.

Fundraiser supports efforts to provide hospice and palliative care services

By Cindy Hatton, President & CEO

Hospice East Bay has been caring for patients and their families in our community since 1977. We are proud to be celebrating our 35th annual Tree of Lights. These ceremonies set aside time for families and friends to honor their loved ones through the symbolism of light and the reading of names.

Funds raised by these events help Hospice East Bay provide hospice and palliative care services to everyone in our communities, regardless of their ability to pay. Through your gifts, we also offer additional supportive services and programs, such as music therapy and children’s grief programs, which are not covered by insurance.

I wish to thank the many community groups that make these events so special and unique. A special thank you to Rudney Associates for their ongoing support as a Sustaining Light Sponsor.

This year, we are hoping to see you in person at a ceremony near you. However, due to growing concerns about the Delta variant, we may need to hold these events virtually once again. I hope you will join us either way and gather with others to remember or honor someone special in your life.

About

Hospice East Bay provides compassionate end-of-life care to terminally ill patients, while offering emotional, spiritual, and grief support for the entire family. As a not-for-profit organization, we accept all medically qualified patients, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Proceeds from our thrift shoppes support the programs of Hospice East Bay.